LITTLE ROCK — Tailoring a basketball term to fit a baseball player, Lonoke coach Chris Foor said plenty about Casey Martin with a couple of single syllable words.
Instead of a gym rat, Razorbacks third baseman Martin is a “dirt rat,” said Foor, who witnessed the young man’s uncompromising work ethic and devotion to the game during one year as Martin’s high school coach.
For example, at-bats vs. the pitching machine when most young men swing away at every pitch. Not Martin. He would say to Foor, “Let’s go with our 0-2 approach,” and work on protecting the plate or remind the coach he didn’t see a curve ball in the previous game and ask that the pitching machine be adjusted to chunk breaking balls on the outside corner.
Or like last year, when Martin was coaching sixth- and seventh-graders, including Foor’s nephew. During every break, Martin would work on fundamentals, including keeping his head in a linear position during a swing, something that is difficult for many, particularly in high school. Martin, Foor said, “spends hours working on perfection.”
At Lonoke, Martin wasn’t much more than 155 pounds and almost frail-looking, Foor said, but his power was undeniable.
Batting first his senior year, pitcher-shortstop Martin hit 12 home runs in 34 games, batted .490 and his on-base-percentage topped .720.
Always into weights and conditioning, Martin was among the team leaders who called Foor the day after the former Sylvan Hills assistant was hired in 2016, telling Foor that he and his teammates had not done much with weights and were eager to get into lifting full bore.
The UA lists Martin at 179 pounds and Foor believes Martin gained weight in the fall because he was not playing travel ball as he had in the past.
In the recent SEC Tournament, Martin was 4-of-12 with three home runs, giving him a team-leading 13 and tying the school record for a freshman that Zack Cox set in 2009. Named to the Freshman All-SEC team and second-team All-SEC, Martin was a big part of the offense that helped Arkansas earn a No. 5 national seed in the NCAA Tournament that begins Friday with a 2 p.m. game against Oral Roberts in the Fayetteville Regional.
Foor’s recall of a couple of Martin’s bombs are vivid, including one that cleared the Little Rock Central football stadium grandstand that abuts the baseball facility.
He also referenced another off Little Rock Catholic pitchers who lived on the outside corner with the ball running away from Martin. First time up, Martin lined out to short. Next time, he adjusted and whacked one out of the park in right-center. “Fifteen feet high the whole way,” Foor said. “It never arced.”
Pressed about the source of Martin’s power, Foor mentioned superb strength in the lower half of his body, fast-twitch muscles and precise techniques.
So many hitters, he said, “come up out” of their legs. Not Martin. Asked to explain, Foor talked about Martin’s stance — slightly open, but not upright and erect.
“When he moves forward slightly, he never raises his head,” Foor said. “Just a hip turn and connection, using the powerful part of his body.”
Even with Martin’s slightly open stance, it’s all about getting to a square position at contact.
Martin was so impressive during the SEC Tournament that members of the TV crew speculated he would be a top 10 pick in the major league draft in two years.
Foor has told Martin that when and if that happens, there are only two things he wants.
“I want a hat and tickets if I fly out to see you,” Foor told Martin.
The young man responded with his favorite message to Foor: “I’ve gotcha coach.”
As usual, there were naysayers when Martin signed with the Razorbacks, folks who questioned whether Martin could cut it in the SEC.
“Casey is one of those … if you tell that to him, you’re in trouble,” Foor said. “If he went 0-for-3, I’d feel sorry for the next pitcher.”